Quotes

“If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. The covetous man cannot so properly be said to possess wealth, as that may be said to possess him.”
–Francis Bacon

I think that one of the differences in the life of happy people is that they are content with what they have. In order to be content with what one has, there are a couple of criteria that need to be met. First, there has to be an appreciation for the possessions. Second, comparisons cannot be made all of the time (ie. with the neighbors). Third, it helps to actually own the possessions outright.

How many Americans are successful with all of these criteria? I can’t think of too many! Apparently, advertising has been pretty successful. We are told every day that what we have is not good enough. We can also easily purchase the things we “need” without having the money to pay for it. Until this cycle stops, I don’t think that our country is going to prosper.

This isn’t to say that people should never have loans. But there are differences between wants and needs, and how much any single individual really needs. Once we can tell the difference between a want and a need, we can begin to master our money.

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